MY TEACHING IS NOT MY OWN IT COMES FROM GOD

Proclamation:

“The Jews there were amazed and asked, ‘How did this man get such learning without having been taught?’  Jesus answered, ‘My teaching is not my own, it comes from the one who sent me.  Anyone who chooses to do the will of God will find out whether my teaching comes from God or whether I speak on my own.  Whoever speaks on their own does so to gain personal glory, but he who seeks the glory of the one who sent him is a man of truth; there is nothing false about him.’”  John 7:15-18 (NIV)

Explanation:

These words were written by the Apostle John under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God.  In this chapter, John records the teaching of Jesus, The Christ, at the Jewish Festival of Tabernacles and His dialogue with the Jews who did not believe Him.  Jesus went to the feast in secret because there were those there who sought to kill Him. (John 7:1 and 10)  The people there murmured about Him, some saying that He was good, and others saying that He was a deceiver. (John 7:12-13)  During the festival Jesus went to the temple courts and began to teach. (John 7:14)  The Jews were amazed at His teaching.  He told them that His teaching was not His own, it came from God, The Father, who sent Him.  He also offered an explanation for His healing of the lame man on the Sabbath. (John 7:21-24)  Then He repeated that He was not there on His own authority but that God, The Father, had sent Him there. (John 7:28-29)  After that, He said that soon He would leave them and return to God, The Father, who sent Him. (John 7:33-34)

Application:

When we present The Word of God to others, whether it be by telling them, teaching them, or preaching, the purpose is to glorify God and not self.  We are not to seek personal glory; we are to give God the glory.  We must choose to do the will of God, to spread His Holy Word, and to give Him glory.  Spread The Word of God, share The Word with others, but remember that it is not about us, it is all about Him.